Page 93 of Sully

“Some of the dogs are better than others when it comes to the chickens. Hence the chicken tunnels,” he said, gesturing toward the fence. I looked, noticing something I’d missed earlier. Along the entire fence was a small tunnel of heavy-duty curved wire, creating a safe little area for the chickens to walk around eatingbugs and pecking at greens, without being bothered by the dogs. “Leads all the way back to a giant covered run over that way,” he said, pointing toward a back corner of the yard.

“Mind if I show her?” Sully asked, nodding his head toward me.

“No. Actually, Chris got hung up on a last-minute emergency call. That’s why you got me instead of her. I can show you guys around until she’s ready for you.”

“Wanna go see the chickens?”

“Depends,” I said, my stomach tensing.

“On what?” Fischer asked, brows pinching.

“Do you guys… process them?” I asked.

“Process? As in butcher?” Fischer asked. “Fuck no. Christ, fucking Astrid would skin me and serve me for dinner before she’d let us eat one of her birds,” Fischer said with a big smile, all white teeth. “No, they’re just for eggs. And pest control. You a vegetarian?” he asked.

“No. But… I had neighbors when I was a kid. And they got all these adorable chicks one spring. I used to sneak over a bunch of times a day to play with them and love on them. And then one day, I went over and they were…” I trailed off, shaking my head, trying to get rid of the memory.

Sully’s hand went to my back, rubbing, as Fischer’s gaze went soft. “No worries. You can fall in love with these ones as much as you want. They will live here until they are geriatric old ladies who are just freeloading because they don’t lay eggs anymore.”

With that, we started off toward the chicken coop. Though, ‘coop’ was too ungenerous of a word for it. The place was practically a chicken spa. They had swings, perches, piles of leaves to dig in, metal balls full of fresh veggies, a small waterfall, and even toys. I didn’t even know chickens liked toys. But even as we watched, one of the hens walked up to a xylophone and pecked at it with her beak, making a little chicken song.

“Got somewhere I can bunk up in here?” Nave asked, standing in the middle of the covered run with a giant black chicken tucked under his arm.

“Yeah, they live the good life, that’s for sure,” Fischer said as a tiny chicken with a poof of feathers around its head pecked at his laces.

“Any chance I can show Bonnie the play—obstacle course?” Sully asked when we all walked out of the chicken run, pausing to use some hand sanitizer that was attached to the door.

“Yeah, of course,” Fischer said, heading in that direction, staying a few feet ahead of us with his long stride. “I heard you got shot,” he said.

“Shoulder,” Sully confirmed.

“Right. I would be remiss not to advise you against going up with an injury,” Fischer said. “Though I also know enough men like you to know that my advice won’t mean shit.”

“Oh, oh, no.” The words just burst out of me when we rounded the back of the building and the course in question came into view.

“You said you’re not afraid of heights,” Sully said, rocking back on his heels as he looked up at the obstacle course in the skies.

It was a massive thing, built in the actual trees, but also to manmade structures where there weren’t enough trees to attach to. There were platforms, rope walls, rock walls, zip lines, and bridges made of various materials from old tires to thin, uneven boards.

“Heights, no. Plummeting to my death… Somewhat,” I admitted, getting a laugh out of both men.

“See all that netting, darlin’?” Fischer asked, gesturing toward the heavy-duty netting that lined the entire aerial course.

“Yeah.”

“That will not let you plummet to your death. Though, it gives you one fuck of a rush to fall down and onto it. And if you get up there, there are some fun surprises to check out.”

“You gotta try it,” Sully said.

“Maybe next time. You can’t go up there,” I told him, looking at his shoulder.

“Nuh-uh, you don’t get to use me as an excuse. I’m going.”

“No, I…”

“I can go up,” Fischer offered. “I’m not your man, but I’ve talked many a terrified man, woman, and child through this course.”

Adrenaline surged through me, making me immediately feel shaky.

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